The Greatest 2D Sports Video Game Athletes: QB Eagles Edition
Features, Sports — By Jeffrey L. Wilson on December 27, 2009 at 3:10 pmLet’s get it out of the way right now without any setup: QB Eagles is the single greatest sports video game athletes of all time. Unquestionably, there are some who will question the very validity of this final post in the series as this regulates the twin faces of outstanding sports video game athletes, Bo Jackson and Jeremy Roenick, to roles of second bests. It’s understandable; Bo carves up defenses and Roe owns on both sides of the puck. I propose, however, that once QB Eagles’ game is carefully analyzed, many will come to see that he is indeed the Gamebreaker of Gamebreakers.
QB Eagles, in all of his 8-bit glory, is the prototype for broken, scrambling quarterbacks who can kill you with the cannon or wheels; think Warren Moon with the legs of Barry Sanders.
The legend of QB Eagles begins with his name: who is this mysteriously-titled pigskin-tosser? QB Eagles is actually the Philadelphia Eagles’s superstar quarterback Randal Cunningham who is known for his famous scrambling ability, his arm rocket, and for not signing a deal with Tecmo along with his NFL Players Association brethren (a la the Buffalo Bills’ Jim Kelly). The QB Eagles name may have been bogus, but it gives him a cool, superhereo-esque codename that was perfectly suited for his in-game super-abilities.
QB Eagles is almost impossible to shut down. Just like the real life Cunningham, QB Eagle has one of the strongest and accurate arms in the game. His preciseness more than makes up for he total incompetence that are his wide receivers; they’re slow and have difficulty breaking free from defenders.
Fortunately, QB Eagles has a decent pair of hands in Keith Jackson, the lone receiver actually worth the effort to throw to which, ironically, you won’t have to very often because in Tecmo Super Bowl, the Philly QB is as swift as a back. Not only can he successfully avoid more than a small number of sack attempts in the back field, but he can roll out using the sweep play in Philadephia’s default playbook and make like a bullet for a big gain.
But QB Eagles, in the right hands, needs not worry about being touched as his incredible scrambling ability paired with an accurate arm means that you can mentally devastate Player Two. After receiving the snap, a player can scramble about in the pocket as though he’s looking for holes in the defensive line to dart through, grabbing the attention of your opponent who thinks you’re looking to make a break for the first down. As you move forward, and as you just approach the line of scrimmage, you can cock the hammer back and fire off a bomb to one of your receivers, hopefully the swift-footed, sure-handed Keith Jackson, who leads tight ends with with a 50 Maxmium Speed.
Using this strategy over the course of game, mixing up true QB rushes and scramble-and-passes, is enough to make your best friend hate you for a good portion of your life. Anthony Fuentes, if you’re reading this, I still despise your very being.
But there is a dark side. Although running with QB Eagles is always a solid option, never ever forget that he is the lone Eagle with a target on his chest; should he go down, so does your chances of victory. Out of all the Gamebreakers on this list, no one is more valuable to his team than QB Eagles. If the Raiders lost Bo Jackson, for example, Hall of Famer Marcus Allen could pick up the slack. Back up quarterback Jim MacMahon went from rhymin’ and dancin’ in the greatest music video of all time, to sittin’ and waitin’ on Philly’s bench. Running back Keith Byars can double as a pretty good receiver (69 Reception rank), but he has lead feet. But if you insist on spamming QB Eagles on every play, make sure not to get tackled; the out of bounds lines is his, and yours, best friend.
Some would say that any character who I recommend taking out of bounds shouldn’t be worthy of being named as the top video game athlete ever – - a position that I pondered myself. QB Eagle’s multi-angled assault, however, is one that virtually unstoppable unless faced with an opponent of exceptional skill level and with a Gamebreaker on defense, to counteract his attack-and even that can wear on the mental as you just have no clue how QB Eagle is going to pick you apart. You know that Marino or Montana are going to air it out, so you can adjust accordingly, but QB Eagles’ ability to go from 0 to 60 in a heartbeat places him among the elite.
QB Eagles is the single greatest sports videogame athlete of all time.
Nuff said.
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1 Comment
Could not agree more, QB Eagles is a force of nature.